Yesterday afternoon a source informed DBD that the Dallas Stars were working on a trade that was nearly finalized, one that involved the swapping of "two veterans" in what was described as an odd move for the team. When the details finally emerged that the Stars had traded winger Michael Ryder to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Erik Cole, it was tough to nail down exactly how to feel about one heck of a head-scratcher of a trade.

For one, Michael Ryder was on a six-game point streak (2 goals, 7 assists) and had seemingly found some legitimate chemistry with Cody Eakin on the Stars' second line. In fact, I was already making plans on writing a column on the "rejuvenated" Michael Ryder who has suddenly become a slick setup man for the young kids on his line.

Suffice it to say, I liked having Ryder on the Stars and enjoyed watching what he could bring to the ice. He brought a dynamic to the Stars the team was missing, especially last season, and the past few weeks had recovered from an exceptionally mediocre start for the right wing to become the co-leading scorer for the Stars in goals and assists.